Systems for connecting front grills to vehicles are known in the art. Conventionally, metal clips are often used to attach a front grill to a vehicle""s grill opening reinforcement (GOR) structure in front of the vehicle""s radiator. As the vehicle is driven, air flowing through the grill reaches the radiator to help cool water and/or anti-freeze fluid therein in a known manner.
Unfortunately, the metal clips are sometimes problematic in the following regards. First, the metal clips often must be put on at the assembly line facility, which requires an extra person(s) at the assembly line facility and/or additional cost. Second, grills attached to vehicles in such a manner are prone to falling off the vehicle and/or rattling during rough operating conditions (e.g., off-road driving, and/or after years of conventional driving).
In view of the above, it will be apparent to the skilled artisan that there exists a need in the art for an improved system (structure and/or method) for attaching grill(s) and/or other trim component(s) to a vehicle(s). It is an object of this invention to fulfill this need and/or other needs which will become apparent to the skilled artisan upon review of this document.
An object of this invention is to provide an improved system (e.g., structure and/or method) for attaching a grill and/or other trim component to a vehicle.
Another object of this invention is to provide a system for attaching a grill and/or other vehicle trim component to a vehicle in an efficient and secure manner.
Another object of this invention is to fulfill one or more of the above-listed objects.
In certain example embodiments of this invention, one or more of the above-listed objects and/or needs is/are fulfilled by providing a connection structure for attaching a front grill to a vehicle via at least one aperture provided in the vehicle, comprising: an integrally molded grill including at least one connection structure including first and second prongs extending from a support in a side-by-side manner; the first and second prongs being shaped differently so that when the first and second prongs are inserted into the aperture the first and second prongs slide along opposite edges of the aperture and are biased in opposite directions; the first prong including a latching step for latching onto a wall at least partially defining the aperture in order to prevent the first prong from being pulled out of the aperture; and when the first prong is latched onto the wall, the second prong is positioned at least partially in the aperture, without being latched onto any wall defining the aperture, in order to prevent the first prong from being unlatched so as to securely connect the grill to the vehicle.
In other example embodiments of this invention, one or more of the above listed objects and/or needs is/are fulfilled by providing a connection structure for attaching a trim component to a vehicle via at least one aperture, comprising: the trim component being integrally molded so as to include first and second prongs extending from a support; means for causing the first and second prongs to slide along opposite edges of the aperture as the prongs are inserted into the aperture; latching means for allowing the first prong to latch onto a wall at least partially defining the aperture in order to prevent the first prong from being pulled out of the aperture; means for causing, when the first prong is latched onto the wall, the second prong to become lodged in the aperture in at least one dimension so as to prevent the first prong from becoming unlatched thereby securely attaching the trim component to the vehicle.
In still further example embodiments of this invention, one or more of the above listed objects and/or needs is/are fulfilled by providing a method of attaching a grill to a vehicle, the method comprising: injection molding a grill so as to include a grill body for allow air flow therethrough and first and second prongs extending in a side-by-side manner from a support; inserting the first and second prongs into an aperture so that during the inserting the first and second prongs slide along opposite edges of the aperture and are biased or forced in opposite directions; and continuing the inserting until the first prong latches onto a wall at least partially defining the aperture and the second prong is positioned at least partially in the aperture, without latching, in a manner so as to prevent the first prong from becoming unlatched during operation of the vehicle.